OrzoSalad with Lemon, Mint, and Ricotta Salata

The Dean & Deluca Cookbook by David Rosengarten
Cookbook 28, Recipe 1, (Total 58)

For some reason or another I decided to pick up a bunch of orzo at the co-op. While putting it away in the cupboard I realized that that I already had a bunch at home. So I looked through my cookbooks for a recipe with orzo.

I also enjoy cold salads with ricotta salata (a slightly salty, grainy, yet soft cheese). It's one of those rare cheeses that does not melt - funny that it's usually used in cold salads.

Did I like it? It was very pleasant. A classic Italian type salad - with a little too much olive oil - I would increase the recipes veggies by 100% and add more herbs.

Recipe:
Combine: 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/3 cup chopped shallot, 2 T lemon juice, 1 finely chopped garlic clove, zest of 1/2 a lemon, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper to taste. Let this mixture sit while you cook 1 cup of orzo (boil for aprox 6 minutes). Drain orzo run under cold water and add to the olive oil. To this mixture add 1/2 cup each chopped orange pepper, cucumber and ricotta salata and a large handful of chopped mint.

Hot Juniper Sauce for Game Dishes (sos jalowcowy do dziczyny)

Polish Heritage Cookery by Robert & Maria Strybel
Cookbook 27, Recipe 2 (Total 57)

We also chose to cook up our last lamb roast for Stephen's Dad on Fathers Day. We will be picking up the 1/2 a lamb we ordered from Mr. Bob Otis this Saturday from the Farmers Market.

Did I like it? Yes - it pared nicely with the lamb. We've had juniper berries for a while and this was the best use of them I've tasted yet. The recipe states "don't be surprised if one of you guests remarks 'this tastes like gin'".

Recipe: Saute 1 chopped onion and 1 grated carrot in 2 T bacon grease. Add 2 T flour and cook until browned. Add 1.5 cup stock and add 1 chopped tomato and 1 tsp ground juniper berries. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add 1/4 cup red wine, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper, juice of 1/2 a lemon and 2 garlic cloves. Simmer 5 more minutes. Blend and serve with roasted lamb.

Millet Groats (kasza jaglana)

Polish Heritage Cookery by Robert & Maria Strybel
Cookbook 27, Recipe 1 (Total 56)

We actually made two recipes from this cookbook for Stephen's Dad on Fathers Day. It's been a heck of a week and I haven't been able to post until now - a rare exception to the rule of posting on the same day.

Stephen wanted to cook a side that wasn't potatoes - we were looking for a buckwheat recipe but this worked with our plans and groceries better.

Normally we don't cook with bacon grease but we thought that our sister-in-law who is allergic to dairy might be coming over. Bacon grease was a better option than crisco and gave us an excuse to have BLT's for lunch!

Did I like it? Yes - it was a nice change from potatoes. Crunchy.

Recipe:
Boil 2 cups of water with 1.5 T bacon grease and 1/2 tsp salt. Slow pour in 1 cup of millet. Simmer until the water is almost fully absorbed. Pour into an 8 inch square pan and bake at 350 for 35 minutes. "serve drenched with gravy".

Cream of Barley Soup

Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen, by Deborah Madison
Cookbook 26, Recipe 2, (Total 55)

I was expecting nice severe weather this evening - thunderstorms and hail. What better to enjoy it with than soup and bread? Unfortunately my severe weather has still not arrived. In the meantime I've caused my house to reach an uncomfortable degree.

Did I like it? It tastes like the sauce from strognaff (the best part) minus the beef. It was delish.

Recipe:
Cover 1/3 cup of hulled barley with water - set aside. Heat a pot with 2T olive oil and 1 T butter. Add 2 large chopped shallots and 1/4 tsp dried oregano and saute for about 5 minutes. Add 2 grated carrots, 2 minced cloves of garlic and 1 chopped leek, saute for 10 more minutes. Drain the barley and add to the pot with 6 cups of water and 1.5 tsp of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile simmer 1/3 cup barley in salted water for 30 minutes.

While barley in the soup pot is cooked - puree with 1 cup of sour cream. Return to pot - salt and pepper to taste. Add cooked barley. Top with pan fried sliced mushrooms and serve with fresh homemade bread.

A Spring Tonic

Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen, by Deborah Madison
Cookbook 26, Recipe 1, (Total 54)

I found nettles for sale at Mississippi Market on Sunday. I've never tried them and they were cheep so picked up the two remaining packages. This recipe was the only one that called for nettles in my remaining 27 cookbooks.

Did i like it? It was surprisingly delicious. When I asked Stephen his opinion he replied "For how healthy it is, I give it an A+. I wouldn't crave it in the middle of the night but it's very tasty". I would agree.

The way the recipe is written - it leaves a lot of room for whatever you might have. I couldn't find sorrel so I used spinach and squeezed a whole lemon in the soup at the end. I didn't have carrot or radish tops but I had Kohlrabi tops so I used those.

Recipe:
In a bowl combine: 1 medium potato peeled and finely chopped, 2 carrots peeled and finely chopped, 1 yellow onion finely chopped, 5 cloves of garlic smashed and chopped, a nice handful of parsley chopped, and three pinches of Herbs de provence (I didn't have thyme so I had to substitute).

In another bowl combine: A large handful of watercress (at least 1/2 cup), 2 cups chopped swiss chard leaves, 2 cups blanched nettles chopped, 2 cups spinach chopped, about 1/4 cup kohlrabi leaves chopped, and a small handful of dill chopped.

Heat 1 T oil in a pan. Add the contents of the first bowl and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the greens and cook until they are thoroughly wilted. Add 1.5 tsp salt and 2 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20-30 minutes - until carrots and potatoes are done. Puree. Taste for salt and pepper. Squeeze the juice of a whole lemon into the soup. Serve with sage flowers from your garden (my chive blossoms are now dead).

Carmelized Onion Tart

American Brasserie 180 Simple, robust Recipes Inspired by the Rustic Foods of France, Italy, and America by Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand with Julia Moskin
Cookbook 25, Recipe 2, Total 53

I needed to use up the extra pie crust from the Banana Cream Pie recipe - the cookbook suggested using this recipe and it seemed like a good plan.

Did I like it? No so much. It was a little bland and I wouldn't recommend the anchovy addition - they overpowered the dish. I cooked this for lunch - around dinner time I removed the anchovies, scraped the filling out of the crust and into a pan with more spices (paprika, oregano, shallot salt) and a handful more cheese - heated up that way it was much more flavorful.

Recipe:
In a pan heat 1 T olive oil, add 3 cloves of chopped garlic and saute for 3 minutes. Add 3T butter, when melted add 2 lbs of thinly sliced onions. Cook on low heat for 30 minutes or until caramelized. Add 3 T flour and cook for three more minutes. Set aside to rest.

In a bowl combine 3 eggs, 2/3 cup whole milk, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese and the cooled onions. Pour into pie shell and top with four anchovies. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

The Best Banana Cream Pie

American Brasserie 180 Simple, robust Recipes Inspired by the Rustic Foods of France, Italy, and America by Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand with Julia Moskin
Cookbook 25, Recipe 1, Total 52

Stephen makes me a birthday cake every year. Since I've been thinking about this pie since January I requested this instead of a cake. This will probably be the only recipe I post that I didn't cook myself.

Did I like it? It tasted great. Unfortunately it didn't hold together very well. With 1/2 cup of cornstarch and 12 egg yolks - it should have stood on its own no matter what. We don't agree on why it didn't work out. Either way I was asleep at 10:45 last night due to an incredibly delicious birthday night out when he made the filling so I can hardly assign the blame:) We celebrated with Mom and Sarah this evening with the pie.

Recipe:
Crust: Mix together 4.5 cups flour, 2 tsp salt and 2 tsp sugar. Cut in 1.5 cups butter. Mix 1/2 cup cold water with 2 tsp red wine vinegar and add to flour to form a dough. Rest for 30 minutes. Divide in half. Blind bake one pie crust at 375 for 25 minutes, remove the foil and bake for 10 more minutes. Cool. Use remaining dough for something else.

Filling: Combine 4 cups whole milk, 1/4 tsp salt, and one vanilla bean in a pan. Bring to a boil and then steep. Whisk together 12 egg yolks with 1 1/3 cups sugar until light and frothy. Whisk in 1/2 cup cornstarch. Pour the egg yolks into the milk and bring to a boil whisking constantly. Boil for about 3 minutes. Stir in 3T butter and 3 sliced banana's. Pour until pie shell and refrigerate overnight. Top with whipped cream.

(For breakfast make an egg yolk scramble)

Crisp Peppery Kohlrabi-Carrot Slaw with Dill and Anise

Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini The Essential Reference 500 Recipes & 275 Photographs, by Elizabeth Schneider
Cookbook 24, Recipe 2 (Total 51)

I bring lunch to work about 99% of the time - usually in a Kerr jar. The majority of the food I bring is homemade or leftovers. I occasionally go on an Amy's frozen food stint.

Did I like it? Yes. The pepper really comes through even though it's strained out. I was impressed by it's subtle bite.

Recipe: The night before: Cut 4 small kohlrabi's into small julienne slices. Place in a strainer and toss with 1.5 tsp salt. Let this sit for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes rinse and then dry.
Meanwhile, toast 1 tsp anise seed and 1/2 tsp coarse ground pepper. Add 1.5 T canola oil and 1 sliced garlic clove. Heat until garlic clove begins to color. Let steep.
Peel 2 carrots and then continue to use the peeler to create thin slices. Place carrots into a bowl with 1 T rice vinegar, kohlrabi and into this mixture strain the canola oil. Divide mixture between two Kerr jars. In the morning add 1 T chopped dill.

Mustard Green Gratin

Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini The Essential Reference 500 Recipes & 275 Photographs, by Elizabeth Schneider
Cookbook 24, Recipe 1 (Total 50)

This cookbook is in my top 10 essential - if you like to purchase random vegetables from random farmers - this is the cookbook for you. I purchased mustard greens at $2 for a bunch at the Farmer's Market on Saturday. I referenced this cookbook for recipes.

Did I like it? Yes. I'm not a huge fan of greens such as kale, chard, mustard greens etc., but I try to eat them since they are good for me and will help keep my optical migraines at bay. Stephen put it correctly when he said this is a luxurious way of eating vegetables.

Recipe:
This cookbook has a section for each vegetable called "Pros Propose". It's where they give you a recipe in short paragraph form and assume you can cook it from there. "Cook roasted garlic cloves in heavy cream until reduced by half. Add stemmed, blanched mustard greens and cook until soft, about 20 minutes. Transfer to baking dish and cover with shredded Gruyere and fresh bread crumbs. Brown under broiler."

So: Bake a bulb of garlic at 350 until soft. Add to 1 cup of cream and simmer on the stove for a good 20 minutes. Meanwhile blanch a bunch of mustard greens in a pan of water for about three minutes. Strain and roughly chop. Add greens to the cream with 1/2 tsp salt and some ground pepper, cook for about 20 minutes. Add 1 tsp flour to thicken. Pour into a suitable dish and spread with a mixture of 1/4 cup bread crumbs and 1/4 cup grated Pleasant Ridge Reserve cheese. Broil for about 5 minutes.

Sweet Potato Waffles

The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash
Cookbook 23, Recipe 2 (Total 49)

I feel no shame in eating breakfast food for dinner.

Did I like it? Yet again, this recipe produced a much lighter product than I was expecting. Since there was no added sugar the waffles turned out just savory enough to enjoy with maple syrup (Grade B!).

Recipe:
Bake one sweet potato (I used my personal favorite: red garnet). It should equal about 1 cup mashed. Add to the mashed sweet potatoes: 3 egg yolks, 1 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of melted butter. Then stir in 1.5 cups of flour which has been mixed with 2 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp salt. Beat three egg whites to soft peaks and fold into sweet potato mixture. Cook in a waffle iron.